April 17, 2010

Another separatist activity by J&K government. Where is secularism now!? Is this what we want in a free country like India!? From TimesOfIndia:

JAMMU: A controversial bill banning inter-district recruitment in Jammu and Kashmir was passed by voice vote amid uproarious scenes in the state legislative assembly on Friday even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) observed a complete shutdown in Jammu to protest its provisions.

The bill that bars applicants from seeking jobs in districts other than their native ones was passed after it was amended to keep eight percent jobs reserved for the Scheduled Caste community.

The amendment to the bill was moved by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, immediately after the House assembled for the day. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leader Harshdev Singh and Congress MLA Ashok Kumar had sought the amendment.

The amendment said that eight percent jobs reserved for the Scheduled Caste would stay, but the candidates of other communities would not be eligible for applying for jobs in districts other than their own.

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party members were on their feet as they were opposed to the amendment and wanted a blanket ban on inter-district recruitment with no reservation for any category.

Party legislator Zulfikar Choudhary wanted to speak but he was asked by his own senior colleague and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig to sit down. BJP and JKNPP members also stood up shouting slogans.

Amid this uproar, Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone said he would put the bill to a voice vote following which the treasury benches shouted a loud “yes”.

“The bill is passed,” Lone said.

Infuriated over this, the opposition PDP legislators rushed into the well of the house and created a ruckus by uprooting the mikes. They also entered into scuffles with the assembly secretariat staff.

The Speaker adjourned the House till 3pm.

Meanwhile, all shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the roads in Jammu region amid a shutdown call by the BJP.

While valley-based parties, the National Conference (NC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, favour the ban on inter-district recruitment, Jammu-based parties like the BJP and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party are opposed to it.

Congress, which is a constituent of the ruling alliance in the state, is divided as its Jammu-based legislators are opposed to the ban while those from the valley support it.

Protesters set up road blockades by burning tyres and held noisy demonstrations at several places.

The police, however, cleared one of the main bridges over river Tawi that connects Jammu city with the rest of the country.

Both the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley and Hindu-dominated Jammu region have their own reasons for supporting and opposing the bill.

While the valley feels that inter-district recruitment limits Kashmiri youths’ employment opportunities as jobs are reserved for the Scheduled Caste community, the Jammu region feels that the bill seeking to ban such recruitment overturns the constitutional provision of reservation of jobs for the socially marginalised people.

The Scheduled Caste community constitutes about 20 percent of the five million population in Jammu. The state has a population of over 10 million. The community has no presence in the valley where Muslims are in an overwhelming majority, with less than 3,500 Kashmiri Hindus as a microscopic minority.

Addressing a public rally here on his first visit to the state after taking over the reins of the RSS, Bhagwat said India had been extending a hand of friendship with these countries, but they were trying everything to destabilise India. As a result, the security of the country has remained a major issue, he added.

On the internal front also, there was no peace.The growing menace of Naxalism, separatist movements have caused serious problems within.

Mohan Bhagwat,the RSS chief

Vote bank politics coupled with large-scale corruption, and money and muscle power, are hurting the country more, he said. “The lack of national pride is the root cause for this problem.” Indirectly referring to Maharashtra Navanirmana Samiti’s opposition to taking oath in Hindi in Maharashtra Assembly, Bhagwat said: “We have reached a stage where we don’t find anything wrong in taking oath in English but protest if somebody takes oath in national language.’’ “Locals get hurt when people from other places grab their employment opportunities. But it should not be the reason to destroy the national unity. Nothing is more important than the country’s unity,” he added.

Calling upon the Hindus to stay united, Bhagwat, stressed the need for the Hindu community to be more organised as it was necessary for the country and the world to be peaceful. “Wherever Hindus have reduced to minority, that country has suffered problems. Because Hinduism is the way of life which not only preaches national pride but also aspires for a society with good human qualities,” he added. Stating that the RSS was not against any community, Bhagwat called upon people to join it to know it better.

Stating that the RSS does not interfere in BJP’s affairs, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday categorically denied reports which said that he had asked the state BJP leaders to mend their ways in the backdrop of recent dissident activities.

“I need not have to tour the country to teach anybody any lesson.

Only those who do not know about the RSS can draw such inferences,’’ Bhagawat said at the public meeting.

“My tour was planned by the RSS working committee immediately after I took over as the RSS chief and it is the practice in RSS that whoever takes over as its chief will tour all states to meet and interact with the people,’’ he said.

BSY gets praise for Tiruvalluvar statue

Bhagwat heaped praises on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa for his initiative to end the decades-old rivalry between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over installing Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar’s statue in Bangalore.

“I think this is the first such step in Independent India that two states came forward to settle the decadesold problem by mutual agreement,” the Sarsanghachalak said.

November 8, 2009

The Bellary brothers in Karnataka are proving to be the real kingmakers in Karnataka.The sons of a police constable,seem to be power and money thirsty wolves.It has been proven time and again that current system in India and the electoral laws are helping only the crooks to contest elections and win with the help of money power.A hundred rupee note + Free Biriyani + Free Transportation are enough for our poor people to be lured.The people are used to these last minute election freebies now and they are satisfied with what they get from these corrupt leaders.

Reddy brothers in coup : Image courtesy - outlookindia.com

Chief minister BS Yeddurappa might not have visited so many temples before. No need to say who are behind this. The reddy brothers money power can get them what they want.Survival without huge money power and corruption seems not possible in Indian politics.The brothers from Bellary have been financing the elections at different times.They are now able to buy the 60 MLAs to their side and in a position to topple a state government.

Similarly, in the recently concluded elections in North East state, Arunachal Pradesh,the winners are mostly from the Congress party and almost all of them invariably are Crorepatis.There is atleast one thing in common among these people.If not all, most of them have become filthy rich after becoming a minister

It has been a very tempting offer for Congress from the Reddy brothers — G Karunakar Reddy and G Janardhana Reddy! The mining barons from Bellary had offered the Congress party the support of 60 MLAs to topple the B.S Yeddyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka.

It would have been easy for Congress, which has 74 legislators in the 224-member state assembly. But Congress president Sonia Gandhi decided to reject the offer because her advisors told her that the move would strengthen Jaganmohan Reddy – son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy – who has been pressurizing the party leadership to appoint him at the top post in the state, replacing current chief minister K. Rosaiah. Jagan Reddy and the Bellary Reddys are reportedly known to be close business associates. So, for the Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh, a state government at the mercy of Reddy brothers in the neighboring Karnataka was an absolute ‘no no’.

The Congress leaders, who are in the know of the developments, claim that Gandhi had rejected the offer from the Reddy brothers “simply because she was not in favour of breaking a party to get power.”

Besides, Congress leaders in Karnataka also were not very keen for such a move. According to the party MLAs – who were in national capital for the last two days -, accepting Reddy brothers’ support to form a government would be “suicidal” for the Congress’ future in the state. They say such a government would not last for long as Reddy brothers are too demanding. The party, they say, is not ready for a mid-term election because it might lead to Yeddyurappa taking advantage of the “martyr image” he would acquire in the current political game. The Congress leaders also are confident that the Reddy brothers would force the BJP leadership to remove Yeddyruappa ultimately!

November 4, 2009

Despite pressure to unseat him, BSY remains firmly rooted as he enjoys support of BJP high command, the RSS as well as religious mutts.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has been caught up in a severe political storm kicked up by the Reddy brothers and a chunk of legislators in the last five days, threatening to sweep him off his feet (nay seat). Yet, Yeddyurappa has remained unscathed, all thanks to the BJP high command, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and scores of religious mutts across the state.

Yeddurappa, the Karnataka CM

The question being asked in political circles is: Why is the high command sticking with Yeddyurappa when the mining barons are adamant on his exit?

Bangalore Mirror explains the nitty-gritties involved.

LOSS OF IMAGE: It does not take much time for the high command to appease the Reddy brothers, but the price it will pay will be too much. A hardcore BJP man said, “Ours is a cadre-based party and we will be sending a wrong message to the workers by dumping Yeddyurappa, who has slogged for the party for more than three decades. We will be telling everyone that hardwork and commitment takes a backseat before money-bags by asking Yeddyurappa to go. BJP will be considered a loser by both its workers as well as the opposition parties, something it can’t afford at a time when the party is trying to up its popularity.

PAYBACK TIME: Though money-bags have been holding the government to ransom, RSS and Lingayat mutts have stepped in to support Yeddyurappa as it is time for some ‘reverse favour’. The mutts and other temples, which had been neglected by the previous governments, have been beneficiaries of the funds released by Yeddyurappa in his two budgets. These bodies have also received large tracts of land and benefited from government schemes. Not standing by Yeddyurappa’s side in his hour of crisis is doing ‘gross injustice’ to him, goes the talk in RSS and mutt circles.

TAMING THE MONSTER: Though the Reddy brothers claim they helped the party to victory by pumping in money during elections, many in the BJP felt they were turning out to be a ‘Frankenstein’ monster for the party. “Lobbies normally operate from outside the government, but in BJP’s case, the mining lobby became a part of the government,” said BJP’s Bangalore North MP D B Chandre Gowda. “The Reddy brothers have already displayed how ruthless they can get, they need to be stopped. In the party, only Yeddyurappa is capable of controlling them,” say BJP insiders.

REDDYS LOSING TURF: The Reddy brothers are no longer as powerful as they were two years ago. A pointer to this was the recent parliamentary elections where their candidates managed to win with a thin margin. BJP candidate J Shanthi from the Reddy group, managed to win by just 2,000 votes in Bellary, considered the stronghold of the Reddys. “There is a huge chunk of Lingayat population in each of the constituencies represented by the Reddy triumvirate and attacks on Yeddyurappa will only weaken their base. Moreover, the lack of political finesse among Reddy brothers has given them an image of an ‘arrogant lot and ‘fighter cocks in their home district. Allowing them to lead the party will prove disastrous in the long-run. Instead, it will be wise to continue with Yeddyurappa,” claim BJP insiders.

THE AFTER-EFFECTS: Will Yeddyurappa sit quietly after he is removed? That is a question that haunts the BJP more these days. Given the fact that he has succeeded in consolidating the Lingayat community, the after-effects of removing him could spell doom for the party. Moreover, he too has supporters in the BJP camp as he enjoys an umbilical-cord relationship with him as he has been there in the party since the beginning. An ordinary RSS or BJP worker would see Reddy brothers as mere businessmen. Moreover, removing Yeddyurappa will also allow the opposition parties to go high decibel in labelling the BJP as ‘a party with indiscipline’ and will lead to future threats (as both the UPA government and Governor H R Bhardwaj are monitoring the developments).

MLAS’ GROUSE IS MINOR: The BJP head-honchos are of the strong opinion that the current tussle is because of an ego clash between Yeddyurappa and the Reddys and the MLAs have no major reason to complain. “MLAs are with the Reddy brothers now because of cash, but there are many miners from Bellary who are capable of mobilising over Rs 1,000 crore in an hour’s time to save Yeddyurappa. The MLAs will come around as the grassroots-level BJP does not support them in the fight against Yeddyurappa,” BJP sources felt.

Shobha vs Shantha

Women’s wrestling has acquired a new dimension in Karnataka. While the CM is fighting it out with the Reddy brothers, another faction is giving them some competition. Shobha Karandlaje, the lone woman minister in the Karnataka government, has been accused of being the root cause of all trouble by K Shantha, sister of Health Minister Sreeramulu and Bellary MP. Not the one to take accusations lightly, Shobha has also lashed out.

At a press conference at Bellary, Shantha said: “In the government, Shobha is acting as the second CM and it is because of her attitude that MLAs have rebelled against the government. For all the dissatisfaction, she is the root cause.” She charged Shobha with triggering confusion in the party.

Though the CM jumped to Shobha’s defence by describing her as a ‘hard worker and efficient minister’, Shobha herself later hit back with a poser: “Where have I gone wrong that I should give resignation? Let them point out my shortcomings. I believe only one or two MLAs are conspiring against me and the media’s projection that most of the MLAs area against me is incorrect.”

CM passes on ‘jinxed’ Muzrai ball

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is making the rounds of various mutts and temples for ‘divine intervention’ to solve the current political crisis. But, he is in no mood to show the same interest while dealing with ‘God’s portfolio’.

In a surprise move on Saturday evening, the CM transferred the Muzrai portfolio to Home Minister Dr V S Acharya. Sources said the move “was a result of an astrologer’s advice, who said Yeddyurappa’s problems were mounting because he was holding the Muzrai portfolio.”

Muzrai has been a jinxed ministry for the ministers of Karnataka. From Vasanth Saliana to Nagaraja Shetty, whoever handled the portfolio tasted defeat in subsequent elections. In the current government, the then Muzrai minister Krishnaiah Shetty had to give up the ministry to accommodate V Somanna. It was not lucky for Somanna either, as he later lost miserably to a political novice in Govindarajanagar.

Ever since Somanna’s exit, Yeddyurappa was holding additional charge of Muzrai department and now, after the astrologer’s advice, he has hastilytransferred the ‘jinxed’ subject to his colleague.

The Budget allocates Rs 25 crore for Muslim universities in Murshidabad and Mallapuram on the lines of AMU. This will only strengthen the Muslim sense of separateness

It is surprising that the Union Budget has been passed by Parliament without the slightest protest by the Opposition. Rs 25 crore has been provided for setting up Muslim universities in Murshidabad at one end of India and Mallapuram at the other, on lines similar to the Aligarh Muslim University.

The AMU, many years later after it was found, proved to be the ideological cradle of separatism in India. Sir Aga Khan, in his memoirs, has given full credit to the AMU for inspiring the creation of Pakistan. In his own words: “Often in a civilised history a university has supplied the springboard for a nation’s intellectual and spiritual renaissance. In our own time, it has been said that American missionary college in Constantinople led to the re-emergence of Bulgaria as an independent sovereign nation. Who can assess the effect on Arab nationalism of the existence of the American university of Beirut. Aligarh is no exception to this rule. But we may claim with pride that Aligarh was the product of our own efforts and of no outside benevolence; and surely it may also be claimed that the independent, sovereign nation of Pakistan was born in the Muslim University of Aligarh” (The Memoirs of Aga Khan, Cassell and Company, London, 1954).

Shortly before the partition, Qaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on a visit to the AMU had complimented its teachers and students for the same cause. The Muslim League was founded far away in Dacca in 1906 and its general secretaries for the first 20 years were alumni of the AMU.

It stands to reason that the two proposed spawns of the AMU could play a similar separatist role. It is relevant to recall that Viceroy Lord Minto, while helping to draft the Morley Minto Reforms of 1909, had rejected the Muslim demand for setting up their own university at Aligarh for fear that it could encourage a fissiparous movement.

Recall what Mr Shaheed Suhrawardy, who eventually went on to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan, wrote as an Indian Muslim on September 10, 1947 from Calcutta to Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said: “Personally I think that Pakistan has provided a homeland for the Muslims living in those majority areas, but not a homeland for the Muslims of India. The Muslims in the Indian Union have been left high and dry and must shape their own destiny and the question arises what should be our future organisation.” He had added: “The Muslims should form themselves into strong pockets. In my opinion this should be done even with the best cooperation in the world with the Hindus. It is politically desirable as well as necessary for survival and also culturally desirable.”

Remember, in 1947, Murshidabad district with 57 per cent Muslim population got included in India on grounds of geographical contiguity. In exchange, the Hindu majority district called Khulna went to East Pakistan. Attempts to squeeze out Hindus from the area continue even now. One recent symptom of this process is the riot in Murshidabad which claimed several lives. The issue was that the Friday namaz was needed in the local Government school; whereas celebration of Saraswati puja was not permissible. This is despite the fact that the students at the school belong to both the communities.

What the Budget proposes could lead to a throw back on the brainchild of Chodhury Rahmat Ali, the Cambridge scholar, who in July 1933 proposed the creation of Pakistan in the north-west and Bang-I-Islam comprising Bengal and Assam. In his dispensation, the Nizam’s Hyderabad was to become Usmanistan. Rahmat Ali had also expressed surprise as to why Muslim provinces should be forced into the Indian Federation under the 1935 Government of India Act when simultaneously Burma was being separated from the sub-continent.

Syed Abdul Rashid of Usmania University had, in several pamphlets published in 1938, gone further than Rahmat Ali. In addition to these three separate States, he wanted a fourth one called Moghulistan extending from the border of Patiala to Lucknow with its capital at Delhi. Most of these facts were reported in The Constitutional Problem in India by R Coupland (Chapter XVIII, OUP, London, 1944). He ended this chapter with the words, “Most Muslims would rather split India into several sovereign states than submit to a Hindu raj.”

With the birth of Pakistan, India lost about 30 per cent of its territory. Today there is an open claim that 121 districts of the country have Muslim concentrations. Last year 523 branches of public sector banks were opened in these districts. This year there is a programme to establish yet another 524 branches. The Reserve Bank of India has reserved 13 per cent of all loans for the minority, in this context, an euphemism for Muslims. It is proudly claimed that nearly Rs 83,000 crore of all loans and grants have found their way into the pockets of Muslims. These are conceded by the banks as “Credit Risk Group” which would imply that not all the loans are expected to be repaid.

Naik Subedar Bana Singh, who won the Param Vir Chakra for his bravery in preventing a Siachen post from falling into Pakistan Army’s hands in 1987, was on Wednesday awarded the inaugural Shivaji-FACT award for courage.

Singh, who was feted by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was also given Rs 1 lakh with the award.

“For all the services this great hero did for the country, the government sees it fit to give him a pension of Rs 100-odd. Hence we decided to give him a cheque of Rs 1 lakh,” said Francois Gautier, the trustee of the Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism, a non-profit organisation, said while presenting the cheque to Singh.

Earlier in the day, in New Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj appealed to the government to do whatever it can including changing the rules to ensure that some dignity is restored to people like Singh.

“I hung my head in shame when I learnt the conditions in which Singh lives in Jammu. The man who gave the best years of his life to the country is now being forced to run from pillar to post to make ends meet. He gets a meagre sum of Rs 100 as pension,” she said.

She wondered how a person like Singh, who has two daughters of marriageable age, will carry out his duties towards his family.

At the function in Mumbai, chants of Jai Gurudev and Gujarat ka sher ayaa overlapped as Ravi Shankar and Modi stepped on to the stage together. The two charismatic leaders, who inaugurated an exhibition on Chatrapati Shivaji, spoke about the greatness of the Marathi leader.

Gautier threw the rule book out of the window and surprised the dignitaries by inviting them out of turn and asking them to speak extempore.

Ravi Shankar, who was asked to speak of Shivaji and his spiritual side, said: “One day, Shivaji who was tired of all the problems he faced as a ruler, went to Samarta Ramdas and laid down his crown in front of the swami. Shivaji said he found the burden of ruling was too much for him to handle. The swami accepted it and when Shivaji was just about to leave, he called him and placed a proposition in front of him. The swami said he would take the mantle of the ruler under one condition: that Shivaji work for him.

“Shivaji gladly accepted and returned to rule the country with great prudence. All he needed was the burden of responsibility taken off him.”

Modi, who was asked to speak on Shivaji as an inspiration for those in public life, said: “The brand of secularism that Shivaji followed was the real deal. He wrote to the Mughal rulers, who levied a tax on Hindus, asking them to revoke the tax.

“I do not know why the government in Delhi is so uneasy when the subject of terrorism is broached. They should also learn from Shivaji. He was the person who engaged in guerilla warfare against those who invaded the country, which is a form of terrorism so to speak.

“And third, Shivaji was one of the first persons to protect the cow. Will the centre again learn a lesson from Shivaji, and if not him at least Mahatma Gandhi, who also fought for the protection of the cow, and pass a law to protect the cow across the nation?” he said.